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incur the imputation of arrogance, and offer my services as Ritual Professor in the University of Cambridge, for the term of five years, on being ensured the pecuniary remuneration, which your correspondent mentions. Could I afford, without the assistance of such a remuneration, to reside at Cambridge for the purpose, I should require no more than to be sanctioned in the undertaking by the authority of the University, which, in any case, will be a circumstance absolutely necessary to its

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N addition to J. W.'s" Vindication of CHARLES I."

Magazine for October 1806, the following curious remnant of antiquity, found amongst the papers of my late father, is at your service. The substance of it has been printed already in Memoirs of my Ancestor THOMAS COMBER, D. D. sometime Dean of Durham, &c.*; but if you think it at all illustrative of the subject abovenamed, you will probably give it a place in your useful and excellent Miscellany.

As I have not seen Dr. SYMMONS's new "Life of Milton," I can only learn his sentiments from the article of J. W. in your last month's Magazine. At p. 251, we

*Printed in 1799, and sold by Messrs. Richardson's, near the Royal Exchange, London.

are told, on the authority of Dr. SYMMONS, " that IRETON and CROMWELL made an offer to CHARLES, while in their power at HAMPTON COURT, to reinstate him in his royalty on certain conditions, &c.!!" the following paper will prove that the ROYAL MARTYR, was, even to the last few hours of his life, pestered and insulted with the vile and deceitful proposals of these BLOODY REGI CIDES: how well he withstood their cruel and insulting. mockery, deserves to be recorded for his eternal honour!I shall make no further comment on this curious remnant of antiquity, nor on the subject which it brings to our sorrowful recollection, than barely to add, that I shall peruse, with the greatest satisfaction, J. W.'s promised "fuller vindication of the royal martyr," which will, I hope, appear in your next month's Magazine.

I remain, Sir,

1

Your's very truly,

THOMAS COMBER,

Creech St. Michael,
Nov. 6, 1806.

MS. FOUND AMONGST THE PAPERS OF THOMAS COMBER, LL.D. RECTOR OF BUCKWORTH. &c.

The Testimony of Mrs. Thornton, daughter to the LORD DEPUTY WANDESFORD*, of Kirklington, in the county of York, knight, concerning a meeting at Mr. William Wandesford's, her father's brother's house in London, the day before the murder of KING CHARLES I.

NOT long after the death of the said King, being in company with my said uncle and some others; condoling his fate, and condemning that barbarous and bloody fact, he told me there happened to be a cabal or meeting of several persons at his house, the day before the said tra gedy was acted, about the execution of it, as he understood afterwards, to his great grief, that such an odious consult should be within his walls. The particulars of whose relation was as follows:

*He succeeded his unfortunate relative and friend LORD STRAFFORD; who delivered to him the sword of state, April 3, 1640; and he died, during his vice-royalty, on Dec. 3, 1640. See his "Memoirs," &c. published by Richardsons, &c. 1778.

that

That Mr. RUSHWORTH, author of the Collections in Parliament, came to him some days before the said consult, and desired the liberty of a large room in his house, for that day; to give him the key of the door, that he and his said company might meet privately, pass and repass without molestation, trouble, entertainment, or attendance. This he could not deny him, in respect of their mutual friendship, and some past civilities: yet the care that was taken for such a convenience, and so much caution to transact it so secretly, made him not a little wonder, and so curious as to observe them. The company came in the morning, not together, but one after the other, and were above a dozen. He saw se-, veral disguised faces, particularly he knew the LORD BALTIMORE, and Mr. WILLIAM LILLY, the Almanackmaker, to be among them, and others suspected by him to be PAPISTS and FANATICS: which strange mixture. did much amaze him. Towards evening he took notice that Mr. RUSHWORTH and another went out, and staid about two hours before he returned, and then presently after the company broke up and departed.

That a few days after, Mr. RusHWORTH meeting him, gave him thanks for his late civility; and casting off some words by way of enquiry about the meeting there at that time, he freely told him that the persons there met were the CLOSE COMMITTEE, to consult about the King's execution. That he and another were ordered to wait on his Majesty, and use all their art and arguments to persuade him to recede somewhat from his former rigour and resolute stiffness, insisting so much upon his own innocence, and charging the guilt of all the bloodshed in the late wars upon the Parliament; and to own himself, at least, in some measure, to have been the cause thereof, and to justify their proceedings. Which if he would do, all of them from whom they came, promised to serve him to their utmost, and set him on his throne again, and make him a glorious King. But that he obstinately refused, and rejected the offer as most unreasonable and unjust, and that he could not do it without manifest wrong to his honour, his cause, and his conscience; and thereby should offend God, disoblige his friends, and gratify his enemies; and all the world would condemn him as a most wicked and bloody ty rant, and a self-condemned miscreant unworthy to live;

AND IF HE COULD NOT HAVE HIS LIFE BUT UPON SUCH BASE COMPLIANCE, HE WAS CONTENT TO DIE!!! So

when

pro

when they could, as he said, do no good on him, being resolved to persist in his wilful way, they bid him vide for death, for the next day the sentence passed against him, should be executed. At which he said, "GOD's WILL BE DONE!" and they left him, and what the result was, is too well known.

(Signed)

ALICIA THORNTON.

This paper is all written by the Rev. Mr. Prance, A. B. of Jesus College, Cambridge, and Vicar of Easingwold, Yorkshire. He was my first master; and I am certain, that he would not transcribe this paper as authentic, if he had not known it to be such. Mrs. Thornton was my greatgrandmother, and a lady of great understanding and accomplishments, and greater piety*. So that this narrative may justly be esteemed a true one; as witness my hand,

December 11, 1771.

THOMAS COMBER.

P. S. I suppose that my great-grandmother had signed the original for the use of Mr. Edward Maurice, of Aldborough, Yorkshire, an antiquarian. Mr. Prance was executor to Mr. Maurice, and I suppose my father desired this copy.

VINDICATION OF KING CHARLES THE FIRST.

1

TO THE EDITOR OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCHMAN'S

SIR,

MAGAZINE.

I

BEG leave to resume the consideration of the illiberal attacks made upon the character of King Charles

* The character which my father here gives of this excellent woman is strictly accurate and just. I have put together a MS. account of her life, for the use of her posterity; who, by her example, may, I hope be stirred up to the practice of virtue and goodness. Nov. 6, 1806.

THOMAS COMber.

the

the First in the life of Milton, prefixed to the late edition of the prose works of that celebrated writer.

In a note at page 186, the biographer says that "Popish intrigues certainly contributed to the calamities of those times. The court of Rome, by its agents the Jesuits, endeavoured in the first instance to gain the King and his party, and by their means to crush the Puritans. When the steadiness of the King to the Church of England, disappointed them of their object, they turned. against him, and were accomplices in his ruin."

Here is a strange mixture of truth and falsehood; though upon the whole, what is asserted of the King does more honour to his character than the writer was aware of when he penned the note.

So far, however, is it from being true that the Jesuits, or the Court of Rome, entered into any negociation with the King for the purpose of "crushing the Puritans," that the contrary was the fact, and they were always zealous friends to that party. The Romanists aided and cherished the Puritans at the very first rise of that turbulent faction; and continued so to do, till the latter completely succeeded in destroying the church and state, the common object of hatred to both.

"In the reign of Queen Elizabeth," says honest Strype, "Papists continued with the Puritans in defacing the common service used in our churches: and that great statesman Sir William Cecil (lord Burleigh) kept a me morial book or journal, wherein he wrote an account of such matters as occurred, from whence the following passages were extracted: "In these days men began to speak against the reformed prayers, established first by King Edward VI. and his parliament, and since by her majesty, and her parliament, upon which account divers Papists disguisedly spoke as bitterly against the reformed prayers of the Church as those then called Puritans did*." This is followed by a long account of Faithful Cummin, a Dominican Friar, who, under the disguise of a most zealous Puritan, preached up for a further reformation in the church, inveighed against set forms of worship, called the Common Prayer English Mass, and, thereby made the Liturgy odious to the people. Being discovered, he withdrew secretly from the kingdom, after having wheedled his followers out of a good deal of mo

*Strype's Life of Archbishop Parker, p. 144.

ney's

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